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Archive for the ‘Stanton’ Category

A small protest is underway at the OC GOP Headquarters in Stanton against the Measure GG Sales Tax Increase on the November ballot. While the OC GOP has officially endorsed against Measure GG, the headquarters is being run by Stanton Councilman David Shawver, who has vocally advocated the Measure GG Sales Tax Increase.

Shawver is hosting a meeting for some delegates of the California Republican Party, as the state party convention is underway this weekend.

The protesters are objecting to an atmosphere of tax-and-spend by Republicans, led by Shawver. The protesters are also objecting to Measure GG’s sales tax increase that is 12.5% higher than the existing sales tax.

Additionally, the protesters have raised concerns that City resources are being used to promote the ballot measure, as can be seen on this page on the City of Stanton web site (in case the page gets taken down, OC Political has taken the liberty of archiving the page here) or this City press release.

The City of Stanton has argued that it has been cutting its budget to the bone since 2011, cutting $9 million from its general fund since then. The protesters have raised concerns about the adequacy of these cuts, citing the levels of salaries of City employees and citing pay raises granted during since 2011, when the City is asking the voters to increase the sales tax:

$162,504: City Manager (15% pay raise in 2012)

$141,312: Community Development Director (5% pay raises in 2011 and 2012)

$134,580: Public Works Director/City Engineer

$128,172: Administrative Services Director

$122,076: Community Services Director (5% pay raise on August 12, 2014, just six months after becoming Community Services Director)

The full text of Measure GG is available from the Registrar of Voters (it’s the first 3.5 pages of the PDF). The City Attorney’s impartial analysis is on page 4. While the proponents of the Measure GG sales tax increase have dubbed it the “9-1-1/Public Safety and Essential City Services Protection Measure,” the impartial analysis notes, “The City would not be required to use the revenues raised by Measure GG for any special purpose or for any particular program or service.”

Pages 5-6 of the PDF from the Registrar has the argument in favor of GG, argument against GG, and the rebuttals to those two arguments.

I was working on a database of the part affiliation of all Orange County local elected officials. Finally, I have completed the project with all of the special districts and county seats being added. I also fixed some errors in the previous versions (here, here, and here) and have combined the database into one post.

We have added a button on the menu bar for our readers to always be able to access this database and use it for whatever research/political needs that they may have. Due to the length of th epost you are going to have to click the below link to read the rest of the post.

There were a lot of vacancies this year. Three countywide posts and one school board seat remain vacant. All salaries noted below are base pay.

County

Four of Orange County’s eight countywide posts went vacant during 2012.

Orange County Clerk-Recorder: Tom Daly (D) vacated the seat this month to become the 69th District’s State Assemblyman. Numerous candidates have either expressed interest behind the scenes or are rumored to be interested; none have made public statements. The job pays $139,256.40 (that extra 40 cents won’t even get you enough postage to send a letter). Apply online here by January 15.

Orange County Public Administrator: John Williams (R) resigned in January or February depending on how you interpret his resignation, un-resignation, and re-resignation saga. Former Assemblyman Ken Lopez-Maddox (R), who is also a former Garden Grove Councilman and former Capistrano Unified School District Board Member, is the first to publicly throw his hat in the ring. (12/19 Update:The previous sentence was ambiguously worded, so to clarify, Lopez-Maddox is running for the seat in the regularly scheduled June 2014 election but has not indicated if he will apply for the appointment.) The job pays $30,000 per year (but the Board of Supervisors frequently consolidates it with the more lucrative appointed post of Public Guardian). Apply online here by January 15.

Orange County Superintendent of Schools: Bill Habermehl (R) vacated the seat in June, deciding it was time for him to retire. Seven of the eight countywide posts are filled by the County Board of Supervisors when there’s a vacancy. This is the eighth post, and the County Board of Education appointed Al Mijares (R) to fill the seat. The job pays $287,500 per year.

Many people have argued Clerk-Recorder, Auditor-Controller, Public Administrator, and various other County posts should be appointed by the Board of Supervisors instead of elected positions. Good luck with that. Just six months ago, 60.5% of Orange County voters rejected making Public Administrator an appointed position.

City Council

They move with great speed to fill Council vacancies in Little Saigon.

Garden Grove City Council: Bruce Broadwater (D) vacated the seat this month to become Mayor of Garden Grove. Minutes after Broadwater became Mayor, the Council held the vote to fill his newly-vacated Council seat. New Councilman Chris Phan moved to nominate the November election’s 3rd place finisher, Phat Bui, but he failed to get a second on his nomination. Councilwoman Dina Nguyen (R) moved and Councilman Steve Jones (R) seconded the nomination of defeated Councilman Kris Beard (D), who came in 4th in the election, and the Council voted unanimously to appoint Beard to the seat. Beard was out of office for mere minutes. The job pays $8,093 per year.

Westminster City Council: Tri Ta (R) vacated the seat this month to become Mayor of Westminster. In stunningly rapid fashion, the Westminster City Council left his seat vacant for mere minutes before appointing Margie Rice (R) after Ta replaced Rice as Mayor. In other words, Ta and Rice simply swapped seats. The jobs pays $10,206 per year.

The County’s smaller cities took a little more time.

Stanton City Council: Councilman Ed Royce, Sr. (R) vacated his seat for health reasons in February. Rigoberto Ramirez (R) was appointed to fill the seat in March. Ramirez is up for election to a four-year term in 2014. The job pays $10,200 per year.

Villa Park City Council: Councilman Bob Fauteux (R) passed away in February. Rick Barnett (R) was appointed to fill the seat in March and won election to a four-year term in November with no opponents. The job pays nothing.

School Board

For the second time this year, the Anaheim Union High School District Board is filling a vacancy.

Anaheim Union High School District Board (February): Earlier this year in February, Jan Harp Domene (D) passed away unexpectedly at the age of 60. The board appointed Annemarie Randle-Trejo on a 3-1 vote in April. OC Politicalcovered this process.

Anaheim Union High School District Board (December): Jordan Brandman (D) vacated the seat this month to become an Anaheim City Councilman. The board will fill his seat early next year. The job pays $9,731.52.

Brandman originally won his AUHSD seat in a February 2008 special election after a petition overturned the appointment of Harald Martin (R), who was selected by the Board to fill the seat left vacant due to the unexpected passing of Denise Mansfield-Reinking (R) in May 2007.

The AUHSD board is on its third vacancy in six years.

Special District

Municipal Water District of Orange County, Division 3: Director Ed Royce, Sr. (R) vacated his seat for health reasons in February. Wayne Osborne (R) was appointed to fill the seat in March and won election to a four-year term in a four-way race in November. The job pays $26,594 per year.

Please note that a couple of races could potentially change based on a close finish and not all votes being counted. This post will be added to our website in a permanent tab that we will be creating at the top of the site.

This year marked the first time that The Orange County Register endorsed candidates for office. While the paper has endorsed for or against ballot measures on a regular basis, this was the paper’s first foray into endorsing City Council candidates.

So here’s who they endorsed, and whether the candidate won or loss (I should note these numbers are subject to change pending further results from the Registrar of Voters, as there are several close races, including, but not limited to, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Mission Viejo, Tustin, and Yorba Linda):

The Register went 39-27 in Council races (2-1 in mayoral races if you count those separately from Council races), endorsing the winner 59% of the time.

On ballot measures, here’s what happened with The Register’s endorsements:

Ballot Measure

OC Register

OC Voters

Statewide Voters

Proposition 30

No

No

Yes

Proposition 31

No

No

No

Proposition 32

Yes

Yes

No

Proposition 33

Yes

Yes

No

Proposition 34

No

No

No

Proposition 35

Yes

Yes

Yes

Proposition 36

Yes

Yes

Yes

Proposition 37

No

No

No

Proposition 38

No

No

No

Proposition 39

No

Yes

Yes

Proposition 40

Yes

Yes

Yes

Measure M (Coast Community College District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

Yes

-

Measure N (Fountain Valley School District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

No

-

Measure O (La Habra City School District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

Yes

-

Measure P (Ocean View School District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

No

-

Measure Q (Rancho Santiago Community College District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

Yes

-

Measure S (Tustin Unified School District – Needs 55% to Pass)

No

Yes

-

Measure T (Brea)

No

Yes

-

Measure U (Brea)

No

No

-

Measure V (Costa Mesa)

Yes

No

-

Measure W (Fullerton)

Yes

No

-

Measure X (Fullerton)

Yes

Yes

-

Measure Y (Garden Grove)

No

Yes

-

Measure Z (Huntington Beach)

Yes

No

-

Measure AA (Huntington Beach)

Yes

Yes

-

Measure BB (Irvine)

No

Yes

-

Measure CC (Laguna Beach)

No

No

-

Measure DD (Los Alamitos)

No

Yes

-

Measure EE (Newport Beach)

No

Yes

-

Measure FF (Orange)

Yes

No

-

Measure GG (Santa Ana)

No

Yes

-

Measure HH (Tustin)

Yes

Yes

-

On statewide ballot measures, The Register went 10-1 (91%) with Orange County voters but 7-4 (64%) with California voters.

On local ballot measures, The Register went 7-14 (33%) with the voters.

I’ll still be number crunching over the next days and weeks, but despite what looks like a dismal endorsement record, it appears The Register was actually middle of the pack on their endorsement success rate in Orange County.

There’s been a lot of talk and mail about the partisan affiliations of candidates, so I’m providing the definitive guide of partisan affiliations for every candidate running for everything in Orange County in the November 6, 2012, general election. Whether they’re running for President of the United States or Director of the Silverado-Modjeska Canyon Recreation and Park District, we’ve got it all:

South Orange County Community College District, Trustee Area 7John S. Williams – Republican
Mike Moodian – No Party Preference
Jan Serrantino Cox – No Party Preference
Timothy “Tim” Jemal – No Party Preference

In a carefully worded letter found on the City of Stanton website it appears that scare tactics are being used to try to get voters to pass a tax increase. The letter from City Manager Carol Jacobs read as follows:

Dear Stanton Resident;

The City Council has asked me to update every concerned resident about the future of our city. Our city is faced with severe economic realities and there are important decisions facing every Stanton citizen.

What brought us to this situation?

Last spring, the City Council was forced to declare a “fiscal emergency.” That declaration was necessary because politicians in Sacramento have taken our local taxpayer money to fund the state budget. The resulting shortage of funds has put Stanton at risk in order to compensate for severe budget deficits.

The national recession has also hurt Stanton. Stanton residents lost jobs and are spending less, resulting in a decline in local tax revenues

Look at the actual numbers:

• Sales tax revenues will be lower in 2012 than revenues produced nine years ago in 2002.
• Sales tax has fallen $1.2 million (30%) since 2006-07.
• Property tax revenues for 2012 will be lower than property tax revenues produced seven years ago in 2004.
• Motor Vehicle License Fees have decreased 9.4% since 2007.
• The City of Stanton receives less than 1% of the 8.75% sales tax percentage and only 11 cents out of every property tax dollar.

This reduction in revenue has created a budget deficit of $2.8 million a year, estimated to grow until the City’s reserves are depleted in 2016.

What is the City Council doing about it?

Faced with these realities the City Council has made drastic cuts to the budget that affect all of us. Since 2008, many good programs have been eliminated.

• Closed two city parks and decreased park maintenance in all remaining parks.
• Graffiti abatement and code enforcement have been reduced.
• City funding for school crossing guards and afterschool programs have been eliminated.
• City Hall is closed one day a week.
• Police services have been cut.
• Many Parks and Recreation programs no longer receive needed taxpayer money.

The City Council has studied the economic realities and have concluded that the budget can not be downsized any further without risk to Stanton residents and their property.

What can you do to help?

Your City Council has placed a measure on the June ballot to improve the financial situation. I can not ask you to vote “Yes” or “No” on this Measure, but I can tell you what it will do. If the June ballot measure is passed, an additional $1.2 Million will be generated to provide public safety and other vital city services.

The choice for Stanton residents was never clearer. If we do not find an additional $1.2 million in revenues, the city faces bankruptcy and Stanton would become an unincorporated “island” of the County of Orange. This would likely result in fewer services, especially police, fire and paramedic services.

If the measure fails, local businesses that provide jobs and boost our economy may find new cities where they believe their property and personnel will be safer. Even worse, new businesses planning on locating in Stanton and improving vacant industrial and retail property, may not re-locate here if they believe our town is not safe or its future is uncertain.

I hope this information has been helpful in explaining the economic realties facing Stanton, what is being proposed to remedy some of the shortfalls, and the potential impact of continuing shortfalls. Please go to www.ci.stanton.ca.us where we have posted information about city revenues and expenses.

Thank you for your interest in our City of Stanton

Sincerely,

Carol Jacobs
City Manager
City of Stanton

In other words vote for the tax increase or Stanton will join Gilligan and the Skipper on an island. In other words, Stanton would cease to exist and become a County island. I am not surprised to see public administrators advocating for this tax increase, but this is pretty brazen on their part to try to scare voters into increasing taxes.

I will give them credit, this letter does not appear to violate any campaign laws due to careful wording. It pushes voters to vote for the increase without actually coming out and requesting a yes vote on the measure.

This measure will likely face a lot of skepticism, as voters are very uneasy about tax increases in the current economy. It may at the end of the day pass, but this scare tactic employed by the city is a bit disappointing.

On February 27, Anaheim Union High School District Trustee Jan Harp Domene passed away unexpectedly at home at the age of 60. Elected to a four-year term in 2010, her untimely death left the seat vacant with more than two years remaining on the term.

On March 8, the AUHSD Board of Trustees decided to fill the seat by provisional appointment until the voters fill the seat in November 2012 for the remainder of the term expiring in 2014. The deadline to request an application for the seat was Thursday, March 29, at which point 21 candidates had requested an application. Wednesday, April 11 was the deadline to submit their applications, and 13 candidates did so.

Thursday, April 19 at 6:00 PM is a special meeting of the AUHSD Board of Trustees to allow the public to comment on the 13 candidates. On Wednesday, April 25, at 5:00 PM, the AUHSD Board will hold a special meeting to interview the 13 candidates. The following day, on Thursday, April 26, again at 5:00 PM, the AUHSD Board will hold a special meeting to vote on the appointment. If the board fails to make an appointment by the end of Friday, April 27, the seat will remain vacant until the November 2012 election, when the voters fill the seat for the remainder of the term expiring in 2014.

It will take 3 votes to fill the seat, as the four AUHSD Trustees need a majority vote to fill the fifth seat. The four AUHSD Trustees are Board President Anna Piercy (R-Cypress) and Board Members Jordan Brandman (D-Anaheim), Brian O’Neal (R-La Palma), Katherine Smith (R-Anaheim).

This is the most recent in a series of vacancies in elected office in Orange County in the past three months:

On January 23, Orange County Public Administrator John Williams’s resignation in a settlement with the County took effect (though he attempted to hang on to the office until February 7). The Supervisors have not filled Williams’s seat, but Measure A has been placed on the June ballot to convert the elected Public Administrator into an appointed position.

On January 31, Orange County Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom’s resignation to accept a similar position in Sonoma County took effect. The all-Republican OC Board of Supervisors almost appointed Republican Shaun Skelly to the vacancy, but Skelly withdrew. The Supervisors are slated to determine tomorrow on how to proceed on filling Sundstrom’s vacancy.

On February 1, Stanton Councilman Ed Royce Sr.’s resignation due to ill health took effect. His resignation from the Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors took effect the same day. On March 13, the majority Republican Stanton City Council appointed Republican Rigoberto Ramirez to fill the vacancy. On March 14, the all-Republican Municipal Water District of Orange County Board of Directors appointed Republican Wayne Osborne to fill the vacancy, effective March 21.

On February 12, Villa Park Councilman Bob Fauteux passed away suddenly at the age of 79. On March 27, the all-Republican Villa Park City Council appointed Republican Rick Barnett to fill the vacancy.

The 13 candidates seeking to fill the vacancy on the Board of the Anaheim Union High School District are:

John Alvis (D-La Palma), 69, served on the Centralia School District Board of Trustees from 1988-2005 and is currently President of the Kiwanis Club of La Palma and Vice Chair of the La Palma Traffic Safety Committee. In 2006, he came in third out of five candidates for two seats on the La Palma City Council. He also unsuccessfully sought an appointment to the AUHSD board in late 2007 after the untimely death of Denise Mansfield-Reinking. (Harald Martin was appointed to the seat, but petitions forced an early 2008 special election that Jordan Brandman won.)

Helena De Coro (R-Anaheim), 65, is a music professor at Cypress College.

Lori Dinwiddie (NPP-Buena Park), 44, is the Safety Chair for the PTSAs at both Kennedy High School and Walker Jr. High School.

Greg Domene (D-Anaheim), 61, is Domene’s widower and works in the computer industry.

Jackie Filbeck (R-Anaheim), 54, is a Field Representative in Assemblyman Chris Norby’s office, with a long track record as a PTA parent, Anaheim Little League board member, JUSA board member, and NJB board member. She made an unsuccessful bid for the Anaheim City School District Board in 2010.

Kenneth Jenks (R-Buena Park), 57, is an insurance salesman who is active in his church.

Art Montez (D-Buena Park), 62, is active with LULAC and was a Centralia School District Board Member from 1998 until 2010, when he was defeated for re-election.

Annemarie Randle-Trejo (D-Anaheim), 49, is a twice-defeated candidate for AUHSD: she came in sixth out of eight candidates in her 2006 bid and third out of four in her 2008 bid. She is a behavior interventionist for the Anaheim City School District.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I should note my day job is working in the Fullerton office of Assemblyman Chris Norby. Consequently, one of my co-workers is Jackie Filbeck, who is one of the candidates for the AUHSD seat.)

H/T OC Register for a story on Stanton choosing to put a utility tax increase on the ballot for the June 2012 election. The rate increase would be from 5% to 7.5% and the vote was a 4-0 vote with the following council members voting to place the item on the ballot:

Brian Donahue
Al Ethans
David Shawver
Carol Warren

There is an unfortunate vacancy on the council due to the resignation of Ed Royce Sr. who was often the lone conservative voice on the council.

It seems that every time that things start to go south for a City or School District they look to take it out on the taxpayers in the form of a tax increase or school bond. According to the article it is possible that the Council might look to reduce the tax if economic times improve. Realistically though I do not see Stanton lowering the rate back down to 5% if they get this passed. At the end of the day it comes down to the voters of Stanton and what they decide they want to see happen.